Success Story Of CRED CEO Who Once Worked As A Delivery Boy

The journey of entrepreneurs is rarely smooth sailing, and many successful entrepreneurs have faced rejection, setbacks, and failure before reaching their goals. But with their sheer determination and resilience, they battle their struggles and achieve their dreams. One such entrepreneur is Kunal Shah. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of fintech company CRED, was compelled to work as a delivery agent and a data entry operator when his family went bankrupt.

Sharing this inspirational story, Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani, who met the CRED CEO at a coffee shop in Delhi and got to know about his struggles, shared it on X (formerly Twitter).

Taking to his official X handle, Sanjeev Bikhchandani tweeted, “Sitting with Kunal Shah at a coffee shop in Delhi. In a world of IIT IIM Founders he stands out as a philosophy graduate from Wilson College in Mumbai. I asked him why he studied philosophy – is it that his marks in Class 12 only gave him admission in that subject or was it out of interest in philosophy.”

“He told me it was neither. His family had gone bankrupt and he had to work as a delivery boy and a data entry operator full time. And philosophy was the only subject where the classes were from 8am to 10am. Salute,” the Info Edge founder added.

The post was shared by Bikhchandani on February 2, and since then it has mustered over 509,000 views and more than 3,000 likes. X users were impressed by Kunal Shah’s journey, and they couldn’t hold back but throng the comments section to share their views. Many called Kunal Shah’s journey inspirational and believe hard work is the success mantra.

An X user commented, “Wow! That’s wonderful. Didn’t know this side of Kunal Shah. Come to think he does get philosophical occasionally.”

“Hard work attracts success. Some start early, get some early success, and then stop. Others start later, but continue for longer and succeed better,” wrote another user.

An individual expressed, “Truly inspirational. This shows that nothing is impossible in life. Determination and sustained efforts over long periods of time get you success.”

“I can so relate to his story! My grandfather, the son of a municipality employee who used to pick up bodies during the great plague in India, ended up being independent India’s first closed heart and thoracic surgeon and retiring as the CMO of Western Railways,” shared a user.

An account remarked, “Kudos to Kunal Shah, who is an inspiration, and so many other strugglers whose stories are not known to people at large, but they kept going.”

Another states, “Kunal and many more are inspirations to us founders who may not have IIT/IIM backgrounds but are hustling to build something bigger and more meaningful!!”

Meanwhile, the CRED CEO previously revealed that he earns a salary of Rs 15,000 per month. On being asked why he opted to keep his salary relatively low, he stated in an Instagram story that he feels he should not receive a significant income until the fintech company becomes successful.

“I don’t believe I should get a good salary until the company is profitable. My salary at CRED is Rs 15,000 per month, and I can survive as I sold my company FreeCharge in the past,” Kunal Shah wrote.